LARGE sections of the Queen Street Bridge were successfully demolished over the weekend without causing any damage to York’s historic city walls, City of York Council says.
The authority says a section of the wall near Tofts Tower has deliberately been left standing for now.
“This area will provide a platform to install a piled retaining wall which will protect the City Walls before further work takes place,” a council spokesperson said.
“So far no movement has been recorded in the city walls.”
Work on the retaining wall will start this week – but it will not require further road closures, the council says.
The temporary road which runs past the railway station is now expected to remain open throughout the summer and into autumn.
“The works this weekend progressed as planned and the removal of parts of the bridge has created the space needed to continue over the coming weeks, while allowing the temporary road to safely operate,” a council spokesperson said.
In addition to work on the retaining wall for the city walls, Northern Gas engineers will need to remove ‘gas apparatus’ on the site. But again, this should not cause significant disruption, council bosses say.
No further road closures are planned in the area until the new road layout being constructed is ‘tied in’ to the city’s inner ring road. That is expected to be ‘towards the end of this year’, the council says.
Council deputy leader and transport boss Cllr Pete Kilbane thanked motorists for their patience over the last couple of weekends.
“More progress was made this weekend with work taking place to remove Queen Street Bridge, which hasn’t been needed since the 1960s,” he said.
“The work this weekend has, as planned, freed up space for contractors to continue to safely remove what’s left of the bridge in the coming weeks, while allowing the temporary road to be open.
“People will notice a real difference in the area and there will be more to come as the project progresses.
“This has been a hugely complex and challenging piece of work and I want to thank everyone who has made it possible, including teams at the council and our partners and contractors.
“There is still much more work to do on the project but for the next few months this will be done on the construction site with the temporary road in operation.
"This won't be the last time we see work of this kind as we deliver an ambitious programme and a sustainable transport infrastructure in York which is fit for the challenges of the future.
“But it has been good that we have seen what can be achieved at pace when the city comes together and how the city can keep moving and the city centre stay busy with people finding new and different ways to travel.”
The Queen Street Bridge demolition is part of the wider York Station Gateway project, which aims to transform the station frontage.
The council says it will provide an improved transport interchange, as well as revamping the public space around the station and creating a better setting for the City Walls.
The project is being delivered in partnership by City of York Council, Network Rail, LNER and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority alongside contractor John Sisk & Son. It is part funded by the UK government.
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